Night (and day) in a museum

Sitting in the cosy banquet of a heritage hotel in the old city, amid colourful pillows and a cup of cappuccino in hand, heritage specialist Vinod Daniel says, “Do you see this beautiful place? Yes, it has heritage value, but we cannot call it a museum as it has a commercial set-up.” Working as a museum expert for over twoand- a-half decades now, Daniel is also part of International Council of Museums (ICOM). He started by explaining the necessity of an institution to be non-profitable to be called a museum, giving examples of Sabarmati Ashram and the Lalbhai museum.

Tell us a story Having worked in over 45 countries, Daniel has also worked in multiple projects in India including at the Tagore Museum, Shantiniketan; the JC Bose Science Heritage Museum, Kolkata; and the Telangana State Museum. Urge him to talk about Indian museums, and he says, “We have a huge and varied collection we preserve, but the only thing we lack is a good story. In foreign nations, even if it is a piece of cloth, they would research on it, go into its roots to find out who used it, why they used this, what this cloth reflects about their lives, etc. A piece gets a place in the museum not because it is old, but due to its heritage value, the story it tells and the education it provides.”

Make museums tech-savvy

“What if, in the middle of our conversation a dinosaur emerges from the ground before us? Would it surprise you?” asks Daniel pointing at the open space. He adds, “Making museums interactive, adding surprise value and making it technologically efficient is the key to keeping it thriving. These are the times when people won’t come to museums, but museums will have to go to people.

What if sitting in a remote place in India, you could visit a museum in New York virtually? In the next 20 years, the museum industry is going to flourish and grow but this is how future of museum will be, technologically sound.” Have you ever imagined how would be a day in the life of a museologist? From working across different time zones, travelling three nations in a month, to getting to live all the things which have ‘Do not touch’ tags on it, the life inside a museum is adventurous.

Daniel shares few anecdotes, “Once we were working on a designing a better coffin for the mummy and I remember living with the mummy in the same room for several days. It was quite an experience.” Daniel was working to conserve the last pair of clothes of Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi worn before they were shot dead. He said, “The blood stained sari was in my hand and it was a very emotional moment.

That was not just a piece of cloth, there was Indian history curled in it.” On his visit, the IIT alumni spent around 3 hours walking in the pols of Amdavad. Sports and his work on the social front keep him going. “This job has taught me about people, life and everything in between. It has been 27 years since I did my first heritage project, and it keeps driving even today. What else do I need?”

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